It is known that by introducing a fluorine atom into a molecular structure of a polymer an improvement in heat resistance, weathering resistance, electric property, sliding performance, chemical resistance, water-repelling or oil-repelling performance or mechanical property can be achieved when compared with an existing hydrocarbon-based plastic, and various fluorine resins such as polytetrafluoroethylenes and polyvinylidene fluorides have been marketed so far. However, a fluorine resin is used currently only in a limited range since it is very expensive and has a poor moldability.
On the other hand, a (meth)acrylate polymer is a very inexpensive versatile resin, and it has already been proposed that by using this polymer as a starting material and introducing a certain functional group a novel resin can be obtained. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-240017 discloses a technology for effecting an imidation by reacting a (meth)acrylate polymer with a primary amine, which is purported to improve the heat resistance of the (meth)acrylate polymer (See patent reference 1).
While there are two ways for introducing a fluorine atom into a (meth)acrylate polymer, one being a method of producing from a monomer such as a method of polymerizing a fluorine atom-substituted (meth)acrylate monomer (see patent references 2 and 3) and the other being a method of utilizing an existing polymer such as a method of reacting a (meth)acrylic acid polymer or a (meth)acrylate polymer with a fluorine atom-containing amine (see patent references 4 and 5), the former method requires a special polymerization facility and the latter method employs an expensive and highly toxic fluorine atom-containing amine, thus both posing problems.
[Patent Reference 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-240017
[Patent Reference 2]
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 55-23567
[Patent Reference 3]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-255829
[Patent Reference 4]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-118339
[Patent Reference 5]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-243609